st. pat's staples

Sit down to a traditional boiled dinner, pour some whiskey down your throat and top it off with these little treats as you declare yourself Irish for a day. We're pulling out all of the stops this year with the corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, soda bread and beer. These little gems were a concoction from the most Irish person I know, Torren "I was named after an Irish Cabbage Patch Kid" Doherty. Thank you for bumping up the percentage of green blood in the household.

Chocolate Stout and Irish Cream Sandwich Cookies

Yield: 18 sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
cookies
3/4 C butter
3/4 C dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
12 oz. stout I used Young's Double Chocolate

filling
2 C confectioners sugar
1/4 C unsalted butter
2-3 T Bailey's® Irish Creme liqueur

DIRECTIONS
cookies
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
1. Reduce stout in a saucepan at a constant simmer over medium heat, until it is a thick syrup, about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup. Make sure to keep an eye on the pan and stir every so often so it will not boil over or burn.
2. As the stout is simmering, cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla. Meanwhile, check on the stout.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
4. When the stout syrup is fully reduced, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Alternating, add the flour mixture and stout syrup to the creamed mixture.
5. Drop tablespoons of the cookie dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on rack before frosting.

filling
1. Cream butter and slowly add confectioners sugar.
2. Beat in liqueur.
3. Spread generously between two cookies and serve.

Nutrition: 242 cal, 11g fat, 155mg sod, 33g carb, 21g sugar, .5g fiber, 2g protein